TWD

For years we have been hearing how The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead were two separate shows but a month ago at New York Comic Con, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman teased that there would indeed be a crossover between the two shows. This announcement caused a flurry of predictions on the internet since no details were given on who, when, or which show in the Deadverse would host a familiar guest.

On Sunday night, however, fans finally got some answers as Chris Hardwick announced on The Talking Dead that the crossover character was TWD’s Morgan (Lennie James). What followed more resembled sizzle than steak: James gave an emotional farewell speech to fans and cast members alike while acknowledging that his FTWD filming would begin the next morning down in Austin, Texas. But while it all had a whiff on finality, Hardwick tried to soothe fans with a statement from TWD showrunner Scott M. Gimple that essentially begged viewers to forget James’ seeming farewell while promising that there was more story to tell for Morgan on the flagship show. Which, okay, but how much and what does it matter now that it seems like he’s a marked man?

We still have no idea exactly when, in Morgan’s (mostly established) timeline, his FTWD appearance will occur. Will the death of Morgan’s son Duane still seem fresh? Will he be the rage-filled killer he was before he met Eastman? Or will he be channeling the zen moves that Eastman taught him? He’s already been on a hell of a journey, going mad, resisting the pull to kill, and kind of going crazy again. Will seeing the seeds of that be compelling with knowledge of where he will wind up so fresh in the mind?

Morgan’s story isn’t the easiest to work into FTWD. There were plenty of other options that would have made more sense or pleased show fans. Some were sure that they’d see Abraham return from being pummeled to death by Negan and his bat, Lucille. FTWD is moving to Texas and Abraham did have ties to the area. But maybe the creative brain trust didn’t want to do something so obvious (or maybe Michael Cudlitz was busy). Others thought Madison would continue to turn from protective mom to unruly killer, but was it really realistic to assume FTWD could shed Kim Dickens or that her schedule would accommodate double duty? Additionally, the show could have even fleshed out the origin story of one of its popular big bads, exploring Negan or The Governor’s past.

All shows have rules and patterns but it’s hard to know sometimes with The Walking Dead, which means it can be hard to get a read on where they’re going — which is a joy and a frustration. That’s the kind of reputation you get when you play with viewers’ emotions and either fake deaths (as with Glenn and the dumpster before he went down for real) or resist giving characters a definitive end so as to seemingly have the chance to walk back their deaths. It’s Travis falling out of a helicopter with a bullet wound or not seeing Lori’s body. And the increasing ridiculousness of Maggie’s non-existant baby bump. Afterall you can have your leg chopped off, your eye stabbed with glass, be shot in the head and still live to fight zombies. Why wouldn’t Morgan be capable of entering a show based halfway across the country in the middle of the Apocalypse despite being grounded in the world of his old show?

In the end, Morgan may just be the tip of the iceberg of characters crossing over. Especially if ratings respond. Who knows, maybe the FTWD cast will start to infiltrate the flagship at some point. TWD is getting to the point where ratings are dropping a little and after 8 seasons, it’s possible that costs may start to lead to a few (more) painful goodbyes. All of this is wild speculation, but what more does the WalkingDead-verse leave us to do but watch, wait, and wonder if this is really the best move for both shows or simply another random thing that may or not work out and may not even make sense when held under a microscope.

The seventh season of The Walking Deadhas not been without its ups and downs. Let’s face it, the only good episode to air during the first half of the season was the season premiere itself. The second half of the season was far from perfect, but thankfully, some adjustments were made and the show got back to telling stories that the audience could care about. So before we take that trip to Spoiler-town, it should be said that the season finale contained elements that were easily predictable and elements that were not. (more…)

As the Season Finale of The Walking Dead looms on the horizon, this week’s episode delivers on a key moment in the build up to the imminent showdown with Negan. Almost surprisingly, Sasha returns this week after having magically survived her banzai mission to kill Negan, while Rick and the gang keep making moves to gather enough guns to enlist the Junkyardigans. Read on and prepare for spoilers for The Walking Dead. (more…)

For all that has been said about the pacing of the seventh season of The Walking Dead, an event happened in “Bury Me Here” that was necessary, but not expected. Last night’s episode, which was penned by Scott Gimple, gave audiences a different type of episode with some foreshadowing time jumps and disconnected scenes that all came together at the end to give viewers a different sort of experience. The episode provided viewers with an important, yet unforeseen step on the path to the war with the Saviors.

The Walking Dead trudges on in a mostly ho-hum season. ‘Say Yes” was not the worst episode audiences have seen during this boring season. Not by a long shot. However, there were some moments that could definitely have been edited down to something more poignant. While The Walking Dead is weakest when it follows individual characters, this weeks offering was not as bad as it could have been. Rick and Michonne are out on the prowl, looking for guns and love in all the wrong places, namely, a carnival where very bad things happened.

Oh c’mon Walking Dead! You were doing so well! The first half of season 7 was downright boring, but hope was renewed during the second half as the main group of survivors got back together and began making their plans to take down the big bad Negan. War is coming and we can’t wait!….So you give us an episode about Eugene and Dwight?!?! Fear has returned as the audience braces for more long and drawn out story lines that we really don’t care about.

Now, we’re talking! After months of dry, boring episodes from The Walking Dead, things are starting to pick up. Rick and company have gone from being sad, little puppy dogs, back to the bad ass warriors we all know and love. While this weeks episode lacked in the action department, it gave us a few moments where we at least THOUGHT there would be some really cool action scenes. That may not sound like much, but for those of you who stuck around for the first half of the season, the hope of action is better than no hope at all.

Even the staunchest of Walking Dead fans has to admit that, with the exception of the bloodbath in the season premiere, the first half of season seven was absolutely boring. Fans were lead to believe that Negan was a villain who would make his grand entrance on the show and do things that would make The Governor look like a boy scout. Sadly, this was far from the case and fans were left with a very milquetoast first half of the season. However, it was a necessary evil. We needed to see that Rick had been broken. We needed to see what it was like for Daryl to be Negan’s captive. We needed to see Maggie and Sasha take the lead and protect the people of Hilltop. With Rick and company back in the fighting spirit, hopefully the show will rebound from being such a stick in the mud.

“The Rock in the Road” had a lot of things it needed to get right in order to not lose any more viewers. For the most part, the episode succeeds where several others did not. As always SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD!!!!!! (more…)

The Walking Deadhas been an emotional rollercoaster so far this season. It opened with a mighty bang with the deaths of major characters. But then something strange happened. The show absolutely deflated after the season premiere, to the point where the show started losing an alarming number of viewers. The show blandly followed the journey of all the separated main survivors and struggled with pacing and entertainment value. For the most part, Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s turn as Negan has been the highlight of the show, but even that has become stale and routine. But then the mid season finale rolls along and renews much of our faith in the show.

It is becoming painfully clear why the Walking Dead is losing so many viewers. The majority of the episodes are just flat out boring. The group is fractured and there is a blandness that permeates the individual survivors story lines. Sadly, “Sing Me A Song” is no different. There was no peril. Negan was menacing, but his routine is quickly losing its novelty. The sad part is that there were a couple of nice setups for some action, but they either didn’t pan out, or are being put on hold for next week’s 90 minute mid-season finale. (more…)

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